Category Archives: Uncategorised

EBRD to help Armenia develop currency markets

MARCH 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), one of the biggest investors in the former Soviet region, signed a deal with Armenia’s Central Bank to help it develop dram-listed capital markets, to improve Armenia’s image as a reliable financial market.

The agreement is part of EBRD’s Local Currency Programme (LCP), which is also aimed at Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

“The EBRD provides local currency loans through procuring local currency funding or hedging, by entering into currency swaps with third party providers, such as the Currency Exchange Fund,” the EBRD said in a statement.

It’s been one of the EBRD’s stated aims to develop markets and financial tools which support local tools and reduce the dollarisation of economies.

“Expanding the availability of local currency financing is crucial for the growth of local businesses by providing them with fund at affordable rates and manageable risk,” Andre Kuusvek, EBRD director at the LCP said in a statement.

Strengthening and protecting local currencies has become especially important after the drop in oil prices globally exposed their vulnerabilities.

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(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Kyrgyzstan makes hydropower plan

MARCH 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz PM Temir Sariyev said that 16 new hydropower stations would be built for a total of $160m, adding 188MW of power to the national grid. This is important as Kyrgyzstan is committed to boosting its power output to hit domestic demand and also to feed the CASA-1000 project which will send electricity to Pakistan via Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Zenith signs agreement with Azerbaijan’s SOCAR

MARCH 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A subsidiary of Canadian oil company Zenith Energy signed a production sharing agreement with Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company SOCAR to develop three onshore oil fields. Zenith Aran Oil and SOCAR had started negotiations last year. Zenith will have an 80% share in the Muradkhanli, Jafarli and Zardab fields for the next 25 years. SOCAR will retain the remaining 20%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Uzbek scientists find T-Rex fossils

MARCH 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Scientists said they had found fossils belonging to an earlier cousin of the T-Rex dinosaur in Uzbekistan’s Kyzylkum desert. The discovery of the fossils of a smaller version of T-Rex were hailed as a major scientific breakthrough.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Azerbaijan’s oil exports drop

MARCH 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan exported 5.2m tonnes of oil in January and February, down from 5.5m tonnes in the same period last year, official customs data reported. Azerbaijan is reliant on oil exports to fund its budget. The drop in oil prices has hit its economy hard, forcing the government to cut budgets. The problem for Azerbaijan is that a lot of its oil fields are aging.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Turkmen Pres. flies to Islamabad to boost bilateral ties and talk about TAPI

MARCH 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov flew to Islamabad for talks on the TAPI gas pipeline shortly after a high-level delegation from Tajikistan had met up with senior Pakistani officials, a sign of just how important Pakistan has become to Central Asian affairs.

According to reports from Islamabad, the talks between Mr Berdymukhamedov and Pakistani PM Sharif Nawaz were friendly and wide- ranging, focusing not just on the proposed TAPI gas pipeline that is supposed to run to India across Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The two leaders signed eight documents, on a number of different issues such as blocking funds to terrorism and fighting money laundering, and also praised progress on developing road links under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation

And this is important. The TAPI pipeline has brought Pakistan and Turkmenistan closer together, just as the CASA-1000 power transit route plan has brought it closer towards Tajikistan, facilitating discussions on a range of bilateral issues.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Kazakh Parliament passes phedophile castration law

MARCH 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s parliament passed a law which will authorise officials to chemically castrate men convicted of paedophilia, AFP reported. Chemical castration is used in some countries although some human rights groups have criticised it. Without explaining why, Kazakhstan said that cases of paedophilia have doubled in the past four or five years and that it needs to increase the deterrent.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Directors of Tethys in Kazakhstan leave

MARCH 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – As planned after the announcement of the deal with Olisol, two executives at Guernsey-based Tethys Petroleum will step down. John Bell and Alexander Abramov will now be co-non-executive chairmen. Mr Bell and three other directors said they will not seek re-election at the next general meeting at the end of May.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Kazakhstan’s Ozenmunaigas hints at job losses

ALMATY, MARCH 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a thinly veiled warning, an official from the Mangistau government in west Kazakhstan said that Ozenmunaigas, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s state-owned Kazmunaigas, could start cutting jobs to maintain profitability during the current economic downturn.

Elubai Abilov, representative of the local government, said that the company had not hired new staff since 2014 because it cannot afford to employ new workers.

He then said: “Ozenmunaigas will try to protect every job for its employees.”

Local analysts immediately read these comments as jobs being under threat, although there was no word from Ozenmunaigas itself.

In February, Maksat Ibagarov, Ozenmunaigas’ general director, had said: “We are not planning downsizing or wage cuts, but we are in a difficult situation. To be a profitable company, it is necessary to cut costs and increase oil production.”

Ozenmunaigas operates oil fields near Zhanaozen where riots killed at least 14 people in 2011. Employment is a highly sensitive matter at the company.

Last year, Kazmunaigas wrote off its Ozenmunaigas assets.

Kazmunaigas also said that during the first three quarters of last year Ozenmunaigas operated at a loss, as its average costs were around $65/barrel, while oil prices averaged $55/barrel.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Carrefour extends its presence in Georgia

MARCH 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The EBRD said it extended a $39.5m credit line to Majid Al Futtaim, the regional franchisee of French retailer Carrefour, to extend its presence in Georgia. Carrefour already has three stores in Georgia and said it wants to open new ones. Carrefour is also present in Armenia, where it owns one store, Tajikistan and also in Kazakhstan.

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(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)